ECU Health and UnitedHealthcare reach agreement on restoring in-network access for patients

By Outer Banks Voice on August 8, 2026

The Outer Banks Hospital is part of ECU Health.

Ending an impasse that jeopardized health coverage for many area patients, ECU Health and UnitedHealthcare have reached a multi-year agreement restoring in-network access to care “for more than 100,000 UnitedHealthcare-covered patients and supporting rural health sustainability in eastern North Carolina,” according to the statement from ECU Health.

The agreement became effective on Friday, Aug. 7.

In late April, ECU Health stopped accepting coverage for most United Healthcare patients. For its part, ECU Health claimed the between 2017 and 2020, ECU Health physicians did not receive reimbursement increases from UnitedHealthcare. United Healthcare asserted that ECU Health was seeking a near 60% price hike that would make it more expensive than other health systems in the state.  The Outer Banks Voice – ECU Health, United Healthcare battle means lost coverage for many

The statement from ECU Health reported that “the new contract covers patients with Commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid UnitedHealthcare plans, allowing patients to access care from the ECU Health providers, hospitals and clinics they know and trust.”

The elements of the agreement, ECU Health said, support:

• Full in-network access to all ECU Health providers, facilities and services for UnitedHealthcare members
• Reimbursement terms that better reflect the cost of care
• Reduced administrative burden
• Fewer barriers to care
• Preserves the relationships our providers have with patients covered by UnitedHealthcare

For additional questions or support, patients can visit ECUHealth.org/UnitedHealthcare.

The UnitedHealthcare statement provided these details about what the agreement provides.

For UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of North Carolina (Medicaid) members:

Members enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of North Carolina have network access to:

• • ECU Health hospitals and facilities
  • Vidant Medical Group physicians
  • ECU Health’s freestanding outpatient facilities, including ASCs

For employer-sponsored commercial members, including Surest and UMR:

UnitedHealthcare commercial members have network access to:

• • Vidant Medical Group physicians
  • ECU Health’s freestanding outpatient facilities, including ASCs

UnitedHealthcare commercial members also continue to have uninterrupted network access to:

• • ECU Health hospitals
  • ECU Physicians

For Medicare Advantage plans, including individual, Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP) and Group Retiree plans:

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members have network access to:

• • Vidant Medical Group physicians
  • ECU Health’s freestanding outpatient facilities, including ASCs

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members also continue to have uninterrupted network access to:

• • ECU Health hospitals
  • ECU Physicians

 

UnitedHealthcare says policyholders with questions or needing help can call the phone number on their UnitedHealthcare health plan ID card.